Tailgate
Recap Future Ted says that Marshall visits his father's grave on New Year's Day 2012 to continue their tailgating tradition. Marshall then recounts the events of New Year's Eve to his father: Lily and Marshall are setting up the baby's room in their house in the suburbs, when Marshall asks Lily to tell her father that she is pregnant. Lily says she doesn't want to because her father is at a board game convention in Chicago and because she doesn't want to be disappointed by him again. After Marshall's insistence, she calls her father who thanks her and hangs up the phone. Later, Lily finds a book about supernatural experiences and mythical creatures titled "Enigmas of the Mystical" in the baby room. Marshall says that he wants to read this to his kids, as he wants them to be believers like him, but Lily doesn't agree. She says that she doesn't believe in these things as she only learned to believe in herself after being constantly disappointed by her father. After facing difficulty in gaining entry to MacLaren's, Barney and Ted open a bar in The apartment named Puzzles, an idea they had years ago. Despite their initial decision of keeping the drink prices low, they are forced to increase them when the crowd gets rowdy and starts breaking things. Eventually, they recruit Doug to throw everyone out. Robin is spending her New Year's Eve with Kevin when she gets a call from Sandy Rivers, asking her to become his producer as his producer Tina has quit. After Sandy gets drunk and leaves, Robin has to replace him as the anchor. She counts down to the New Year while Kevin, Barney, and Ted are watching her at home. Future Ted says that this night was a turning point in Robin's career, as she became the co-anchor with Sandy Rivers. Gradually, many people have gathered beside Marshall at his father's grave, including his brothers. When someone calls Marshall "Marvin" due to the resemblance with his father. Marshall remembers that his father always welcomed others at his tailgates, and asks his brothers to join him. Meanwhile, Lily opens the door at her home in East Meadow and sees her father with a teddy bear. He tells her that he drove all night to get to her, and Lily hugs him, teary eyed. Continuity *Ted and Barney first discussed running a bar names Puzzles in . *Marshall visits his father's grave on his death anniversary. His father died in , which aired exactly a year prior to this episode. *Many of the games that Mickey Aldrin is showing off at the convention can be seen in . *The bouncer at MacLaren's Pub is Doug, the bartender, from the . *Robin mentions giving up on dreams that she never even knew she had, which refers to her learning that she will be unable to have children, part of the previous episode, . *Marshall continues to voice his beliefs in the paranormal throughout the entire episode. *Robin gets promoted in . Gallery Tg3.jpg Tg4.jpg Tg2.jpg Tg1.jpg 101323 FOX 0870b.jpg 101323 FOX 0861b.jpg 101323 FOX 0568b.jpg 101323 FOX 0057n.jpg 101322 FOX 1153b.jpg 101322 FOX 1000b.jpg 101322 FOX 0890b.jpg 101322 FOX 0250b.jpg Normal 651.jpg normal_660.jpg tailgate22.jpg normal_642.jpg Normal 056.jpg 1211_himym-nye-episode-marshall_sm.jpg Memorable Quotes Notes and Trivia Goofs and Errors *Lily said that she is not a believer. However, in she said that she and Marshall were believers. Allusions and Outside References *The sign "Puzzles" is the same like the one from the TV series, . *The theme song for "Puzzles" is also musically reminiscent of the theme song for . *Marvin Sr. talks about the and . *In the 1986 flashback, Marvin Sr. is wearing an apron with the name of , who was a quarterback for the football team in the 1970's. *Ted mentions the novel by . *The book series'' Enigmas of the Mystical'' that Marshall plans to read to his child is a parody of the Time-Life Books series, with similar TV commercials and title fonts. *Marshall hosts a tailgate party during the vs. football game on 1 January 2012. This game was actually played on 1 January 2012; the Bears won 17 - 13. Music * - *The Puzzles Song- Performed by Ted Moesby and Barney Stinson *Time is Coming - Other Notes *www.PuzzlesTheBar.com - This was a website about the bar that Ted and Barney opened in The apartment. *This is the first episode to show Lily as a child, during the scene where she is in hospital and her dad visits her. Guests *Kal Penn - Kevin * - Doug Martin * - Sandy Rivers * - Tina *Bill Fagerbakke - Marvin Eriksen Sr. *Chris Elliott - Mickey Aldrin *Ned Rolsma - Marcus Eriksen *Robert Michael Ryan - Marvin Eriksen Jr. *Jeremy Batiste - Guy in Line *Chris Coppola - Guy in Black Suit *Jay Ellis - Sound Guy *John Maholm - Vikings Fan *Koby Rouviere - Young Marshall Eriksen *Marty Ryan - Mourner #2 *Stewart Skelton - Mourner #1 *Joe Spellman - Frat Dude Podcast Featuring an interview with Jason Segel. Reception Donna Bowman of The graded the episode at B-. http://www.avclub.com/articles/tailgate,66952/ Robert Canning of gave the episode 6 out of 10. http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/01/03/how-i-met-your-mother-tailgate-review Angel Cohn of gave the episode a C. http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/how-i-met-your-mother/tailgate.php References External Links * * * Category:Holiday episodes Category:Episodes Category:Season 7